On behalf of his clients, Theodore and Lynn Lopsonzski, engineer Mark Bradbury presented a proposal to South Whitehall commissioners for a storage unit facility along Route 309.

Bordered by Snowdrift Road and Blue Barn Road, the parcel can be found behind the Jordan Lutheran Church sign along Route 309.

To make the business possible, Bradbury requested a zoning change from Rural Residential to Neighborhood Commercial.

Last October, Bradbury asked commissioners to rezone the site but was advised to wait until the new comprehensive plan is prepared to see how the space fits in with the vision for the township as a whole.

He said the comprehensive plan might take a long while, even years, to come to fruition and wanted to get something started sooner for the Lopsonzskis.

“We looked at residential with five or six homes, but it would not be cost effective with the improvements needed,” Bradbury said.

The property has steep slopes, a creek and mature trees.

“I started checking availability of storage units in South Whitehall, and 98 percent are at capacity,” Bradbury said.

“Nowadays, when you build a home, you can’t put a shed in,” he explained. “You have to put a rain garden in your backyard.”

Bradbury’s sketch shows four rows of typical storage units parallel to Blue Barn Road.

Several climate control storage buildings are shown perpendicular to Route 309 behind the large trees which would remain as a buffer.

Bradbury stated climate control units are a hot ticket item.

He described the project as neighborhood friendly with low traffic impact.

Bradbury reported test borings and research would be conducted to find out what lies underground and to make certain the earth can support the structures.

He commented on the storage unit proposal.

“We felt this was a really good fit for this piece of ground,” Bradbury said. “The need exists and will increase.

“This is the least invasive project we could put in. This has less traffic than a cemetery.”